The Silence of Others
*The Silence of Others will run at SIFF Film Center July 12–14.*
After the Spanish Civil War ended in 1939, General Francisco Franco ruled Spain for nearly 40 years in a dictatorship that saw tens of thousands of innocent people imprisoned, kidnapped, tortured, and murdered. When Franco finally kicked the bucket in 1975, the government (full of cronies who willingly upheld the dictator’s rule) made a pact of “forgetting”—both dissenters and regime supporters would have their slates wiped clean. The Silence of Others, directed by Robert Bahar and Almudena Carracedo, largely follows the outcome of a 2010 lawsuit filed by a group of Spaniards seeking justice for the crimes committed under Franco. Though some of the legal stuff is left a bit murky, this documentary is a moving reminder of the harm that comes from denying the truth of crimes done by those in power. by Jas Keimig
After the Spanish Civil War ended in 1939, General Francisco Franco ruled Spain for nearly 40 years in a dictatorship that saw tens of thousands of innocent people imprisoned, kidnapped, tortured, and murdered. When Franco finally kicked the bucket in 1975, the government (full of cronies who willingly upheld the dictator’s rule) made a pact of “forgetting”—both dissenters and regime supporters would have their slates wiped clean. The Silence of Others, directed by Robert Bahar and Almudena Carracedo, largely follows the outcome of a 2010 lawsuit filed by a group of Spaniards seeking justice for the crimes committed under Franco. Though some of the legal stuff is left a bit murky, this documentary is a moving reminder of the harm that comes from denying the truth of crimes done by those in power. by Jas Keimig
